Camillo Cavour vs Luis Lacalle Pou

Cavour met secretly with Napoleon III at Plombi

Cavour provoked Austria into declaring war, then allied with France to defeat Austrian forces at Magenta and Solferino. The war resulted in Lombardy being annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia. Cavour resigned temporarily after Napoleon III's separate armistice at Villafranca.

Cavour secretly supported Garibaldi's expedition to conquer Sicily and Naples, while publicly maintaining neutrality. He sent Piedmontese troops south to meet Garibaldi and prevent him from marching on Rome. This maneuver led to the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Cavour, as prime minister, oversaw the first Italian parliament's proclamation of Victor Emmanuel II as King of Italy on March 17, 1861. The new kingdom excluded Venice and Rome. Cavour died three months later, leaving unification incomplete.

Lacalle Pou won the 2019 presidential election as the candidate of the National Party, defeating Daniel Mart

Lacalle Pou's government implemented a gradual reopening strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding strict lockdowns. Uruguay initially had low case numbers but later faced a surge in infections and deaths in 2021.

Lacalle Pou's government initiated negotiations for a free trade agreement with China, aiming to boost Uruguay's exports. The move was controversial domestically, with opposition from Mercosur partners and some agricultural sectors.